The two foot long female, caught 45 miles east of Shetland, weighed more than 5lbs and was unusually light in colour, completely lacking the usual dark, background pigment, and had pink eyes.

Dr Laurenson said it was around five years old and would now be added to the center's reference collection.

"Albino monkfish have been recorded before but, as with albinos in other species, they are rare," she said.

Albinos of all species, including humans, share an inability to form the dark pigment called melanin.